Jason Franey at Les 400 Coups for the Montreal Highlights Festival

montreal highlights festival restaurant © Will Travel for Food

The 400 coups team with the guest chefs

What do you get when you cross one of my favourite Montreal restaurant with a chef who has worked at my favourite restaurant in the world? My evening at Les 400 coups last night with chef Jason Franey from Canlis restaurant in Seattle, who used to be chef Daniel Humm’s right hand man at Eleven Madison Park in New York. With all due respect to all Montreal chefs, this was quite the meal and one that we unfortunately don’t encounter often here in Montreal. Granted, Montreal probably doesn’t have the clientele for it, as was discussed at length with the 400 coups chefs last night. The preparation and the mise en place that go into preparing such a meal are labour-intensive and complex. The 400 coups team rose up to the challenge and together with chef Franey and his pastry chef Baruch Ellsworth, gave us all an unforgettable dining experience. A special mention goes to the wine pairings done by Les 40o coups co-owner and sommelière Marie-Josée Beaudouin. They were all so spot on and added another dimension and depth to the meal. Impressive when you know that the wines are picked weeks ahead and without ever having tasted the dishes!

The result of all this hard work was a 7-course meal with delicious, complex, deep flavours and beautiful colourful plates. I wasn’t planning on writing a post about last night’s dinner but I was so inspired and just had to share these beautiful plates with you all.